Cold Weather Impact On Manatees

Published February 11th, 2011

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Its been a cold winter and it is starting to have an impact on the manatee population in Florida. The past two winters have been so cold the US Wildlife Commission had to expand its refuge area in Crystal River to house all the animals. Despite these efforts, more than 700 hundred manatee deaths were reported last year and so far this year more than a hundred have been reported with the majority from cold stress. Robert Bonde with the US Geological Service who has studied manatees for 32 years believes that even with the cold their population will continue to rise. Bonde also said another big threat to manatees are fishing line left in bays and the ocean.